Justice
by muffinz271
Summary: What if Ryuzaki had picked up the Death Note and became Kira instead of Light? What if Light was the detective that everyone knew as "L"?
1. Discovery

**Hey everyone! I'm Tune, and welcome to the first chapter of "Justice"! As you know, this is a Death Note fanfic, and I hope you guys like it! Comment what you think, and thank you for reading my fanfiction.**

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"For the final time, sit at your desk properly, Lawliet!"

The high school student known as Ryuzaki L. Lawliet sighed, and moved his legs down underneath his desk so he could, in Mr. Adam's point of view, sit properly. Ryuzaki usually made an excuse for sitting the way he did, with his legs folded up against his body, feet on the chair. He would remove his thumb from his lower lip and tell Mr. Adam that he had to sit the way he did, or else his deductive skills would drop forty percent. Then Mr. Adam would say that Ryuzaki was not a detective, so therefore his argument is invalid. Ryuzaki would then go on to say that he has helped the police solve many cases in the past, and he was working on a case with them right now. He refused to tell Mr. Adam which case, exactly, and that is what got him into trouble.

Since Ryuzaki didn't make the excuse that he usually did, Mr. Adam smirked. He was certain that he had won the battle that had raging between himself and that student for the entire school year.

* * *

The battle started on Ryuzaki's first day as a senior in high school. He had come into the classroom with his books and supplies, and chose the desk three rows down on the far left end, right next to the windows. Ryuzaki sat down as he usually did. He had stepped into the chair, and then the rest of his body followed. I guess you could say that he was in sort of a fetal position. He had taken out his textbook on translating Japanese to English, and began to study the first chapter. With his thumb on his lower lip, Ryuzaki calculated how much time it would take him to finish this chapter's homework and start the next chapter.

 _I can probably get all of chapter one done tonight in an hour if I finish my other homework early. How many chapters are in this book…?_

Ryuzaki flipped to the table of contents in the front of the textbook to check. The textbook was surprisingly thin, so it wasn't too hard to navigate. He ran his finger down the pages to see what was in each chapter and what pages they were on. Right before class started is when Ryuzaki had found out how many chapters were in the book.

 _Only sixteen chapters in this? I can have this finished within a month if I want, and I can hand in the appropriate homework on time, so that way it can seem like—_

"Good morning, class," a booming voice had said from the front of the room, interrupting Ryuzaki's thoughts. "I will be your Japanese-English Translation teacher, Mr. Adam."

The man at the front of the classroom was short, only about four and a half feet tall. However, the American man had broad shoulders, and Ryuzaki could see that he was muscular. Mr. Adam was very lean, and with his angular face, short nose, and neatly groomed red hair, Mr. Adam was kind of handsome. "Open up your textbooks to chapter one and we will begin to read it aloud." Mr. Adam had said.

The sound of rustling papers had filled the room. No one spoke, because they all knew that the man in front of them was not to be messed with. Ryuzaki had already begun to read the chapter silently to himself, and so if he was called upon to read aloud to the rest of his class, Ryuzaki wouldn't be nervous. He usually wasn't, but it is better to be prepared for a long journey than to have not enough supplies, I suppose.

"Now, who would like to read first?" Mr. Adam had asked on that fall afternoon. He scanned the classroom for hands. Out of the fifteen students before him, only two had their hands raised. Mr. Adam had no problem displaying his disappointment on his face. His lips formed a line, his bushy, red eyebrows dipped slightly towards his nose—which had its nostrils flared—and his eyes were squinted in a threatening way.

He had then scanned the classroom like this, and more hands went up, five more. As Mr. Adam scanned, he noticed a particular, pale-skinned student in the third row of desks, all the way to the left, right next to the windows. The student had wild and spiky black hair that was pushed to the one side, black lines underneath his dark brown eyes, a slightly angular face, and a smallish nose. The student was wearing a baggy, long-sleeved, white shirt, baggy jeans, and no shoes. He student was sitting in a most peculiar way. He was sitting with his legs tucked close to his body, in kind of a fetal position, left thumb on his lower lip, and his arm was reaching over his legs as he stared at his textbook while writing notes into an open notebook on his right side.

Mr. Adam cleared his throat, and instead of disappointment all over his face, there was something that looked like a mix of confusion and surprise. He raised his eyebrows, widened his eyes, moved his head back slightly, and stared at the student. Then the student raised his head, and caught Mr. Adam staring. In fact, all of the other students in the classroom had noticed the strange sitting pattern, and were staring as well.

Then the boy cocked his head and asked, "Is there something you need, sir? Do you want me to read or…"

Mr. Adam again cleared his throat, and then spoke. "Why are you not sitting properly," he paused to look at the clipboard of names. He saw the student's name there, and began to speak again. "Why are you not sitting properly, Ryuzaki? Is this your idea of a joke?"

Ryuzaki took his thumb off of his lip and smiled, only slightly, at this question. "I am forced to sit this way. If I do not, then my deductive skills drop by forty percent."

"You are not a detective, Ryuzaki L. Lawliet. You are a high school student that most likely wants to do deductive work. So please sit properly." Mr. Adam had boomed. His face was contorted with anger and frustration. However, the student didn't respond to it.

"Actually," Ryuzaki said, putting down his pencil and then lacing his fingers together. "I have assisted the police in solving many cases in the past, seven to be exact. In fact, I am working on solving a case with the police as we speak."

A gasp emitted from the other students. Indistinct conversations and mumblings were exchanged between them. They seemed excited.

"Oh, really? Then which case is it, eh?" Mr. Adam said, crossing his arms.

Ryuzaki sighed. _Isn't he smart enough to know that I cannot tell him? Isn't he smart enough to know that it may be classified information?_ He thought.

"I am not allowed to tell anyone about it outside the police. It is classified information." He said without looking at the red-haired man. All throughout this argument, Ryuzaki's tone had remained steady and calm, whereas Mr. Adam's tone changed with his emotion.

Mr. Adam inhaled shakily, and then exhaled, eyes closed. "Ryuzaki, please sit properly when you are in my classroom. If you do not, then I will have to send you to the principal."

Ryuzaki considered telling him that sending a student to the principal because of the way they sat was immature and almost an act of desperation. However, he also considered that after he did that, it would only get him in more trouble and his parents wouldn't be too happy about it. So, Ryuzaki moved his legs under his desk.

"Thank you."

* * *

The only reason why Ryuzaki hadn't given Mr. Adam his usual argument today was because of the most recent case that the police were working on. It had consumed his thoughts, so Ryuzaki was glad that he had already read the entire Japanese to English textbook and done all of the homework that Mr. Adam would assign. This case was the most complicated one of all of the cases that Ryuzaki had been asked to help solve. There was hardly any evidence for whatever suspicion they brought up. Even the most logical of suspicions had hardly any evidence to back it up.

At least, that's what the police thought.

Ryuzaki knew that they were missing something, that there was one piece of evidence that he didn't have or didn't notice. He had already linked what evidence the police had together, but even though the answer was clear on which suspect was the culprit, something didn't make sense.

 _Stop. I can't think straight without sitting like I usually do. If only Mr. Adam was like the other teachers—they don't care, so why should he? Does he think that I won't pay attention if I'm sitting incorrectly? Did I not tell him that I basically get smarter if I sit like I always do?_

"Lawliet." Said a voice. Ryuzaki raised his head to find the source. It was, of course, Mr. Adam.

"Yes, sir? Is there a problem?"

"I asked you a question. Can you please tell us the answer?" the red-haired man said with a slight smirk on his face.

 _Damnit! I got lost in thought again! I need to work on that…_

Ryuzaki looked down at his textbook, wrote something down in his notebook, and then looked back at Mr. Adam.

"I did not fully understand the question, sir. May you please repeat it for me?" Ryuzaki asked with his silver tongue.

Mr. Adam didn't see anything hidden in this response. The question he asked was difficult. That was the reason he asked Ryuzaki. The student was always finishing his homework with top scores, and either handing it in on time or early. Mr. Adam was confident that he would finally outwit the young man that always outwitted him.

"If human beings originally spoke only one language amongst themselves, then how is it so many languages exist now? Why do we not all speak the same language?" Mr. Adam asked. No one in his other classes could answer this question so of he had to ask the smartest person in the grade.

Ryuzaki pulled his legs up onto his chair, so that way he could get his deductive skills back. Mr. Adam made no comment about this, so Ryuzaki knew that he had won the raging war between them. Putting his left thumb on his bottom lip, Ryuzaki began to consider the question.

 _This is simple, and the only reason that it's difficult is because of how well-worded it is. Human beings have existed world-wide; therefore, it is impossible for them to think of communication in the same way. Further development of language and the ability to contact other humans_ and _learn their language contributes to an invention of a new language. That is what I will answer._

"Human beings have existed world-wide; therefore, it is impossible for them to think of communication in the same way," Ryuzaki explained, taking his thumb off of his lip again. "Further development of language, the ability to contact other humans and learn their language contributes to an invention of a new language. That is why we do not speak the same language. It is also impossible to get the world to communicate in the same way. Even though most of the world may speak it, there will still be rebellious people that refuse to speak it."

Mr. Adam was shocked by this answer. It was perfect. It wasn't the answer written down in his notes; however, it was _better_ than what the notes said. Mr. Adam decided that he would let Ryuzaki sit however he wanted. Besides, if he had a student this good, he could use it to his advantage.

"A perfect answer, as always." He said, trying not to show too much emotion on his face.

The rest of the day went well. Word gets around quickly, and soon, everyone knew about Ryuzaki's actions. Usually, he is made fun of because of the way he sits, and is lonely at every lunch period. Today, however, his table was crammed with popular and non-popular kids alike. They all asked the same question—more or less.

"Ryuzaki! How do you do it?"

"Can you teach me to be that smart?"

"Sorry I bullied you, Ryuzaki. You're actually pretty cool. Can you help me with my homework later?"

"Let's go party tonight, Ryuzaki! Right after we finish our homework of course."

He remained silent the whole time; all he did was eat his lunch, and then go outside to read. However, no matter where he went for the rest of the day, a pack of other students followed. Ryuzaki ignored every single one of them. The only time he got any silence—more or less—was after school. Everyone seemed to forget about the legendary Ryuzaki L. Lawliet as they went off with their friends.

On the way home, Ryuzaki saw a black leather notebook fall from the sky. It seemed to come out of thin air. The book landed right in front of him. Ryuzaki stopped his bike right before it. He laid the bike down, and then cautiously looked down at the fallen notebook. It was covered in black leather—on the cover, spine, and back. On the front of the notebook in white lettering read: DEATH NOTE. Thinking it a prank, Ryuzaki picked it up between his fingers, and held it out in front of him. He opened the notebook—still holding it far away from himself and pinching the corners in his fingers—and read what was written there in English.

 **Rules of the Death Note:**

 **· The human's name that is written in this note shall die.**

 **· If the cause of death is not specified within 40 seconds of writing the name, then the victim will simply die of a heart attack.**

Noticing that there was no trace of an author, Ryuzaki put it into his bag. He was suspicious of it.

 _Even though it is most likely a prank,_ he thought as he picked up his bike and got on. _There is still a small chance that it is real. Even if it is only a two percent chance, it is still a chance. I will try it out on a criminal tonight. If it doesn't work, I shall put it back where I found it._

With that in mind, Ryuzaki pedaled the rest of the way home. Once he was home after an uneventful ride, he parked his bike outside. Ryuzaki walked up the steps to his single-floor house and turned the doorknob. It didn't move that much, signifying that no one was home from work yet. Ryuzaki got out his house key, inserted it into the door, and unlocked his house.

In his bedroom, Ryuzaki studied the rules in the Death Note. They were very elaborate, and took up the first three pages of the notebook, front and back.

 _I wonder who would put this much time and effort into a prank…it's very convincing and elaborate, I'll give them that._

Ryuzaki then reached across his desk and logged into his computer. He opened up a search engine, and then typed:

CRIMINALS IN JAPAN

He hit the enter button, and waited for results to come up. Once they did, he clicked on the very first result link. It came to a website that was just a list of Japanese criminals in alphabetical order by their last name, and what their crime(s) were. The first criminal, Kanji, Takiman was guilty of murdering five people inside a movie theater.

 _I guess I could try it out on him…_

Ryuzaki grabbed a pencil out of the cup on his desk, opened up the Death Note, and wrote the criminal's name in it. _Let's see what happens…_ He thought as he turned on the local news. Since Takiman's crime was committed recently, there were still reports about him. Ryuzaki watched the television intently, his thumb pressing into his lip. Ryuzaki nervously rubbed his feet together as he watched what he did unfold.

"I guess so. It makes sense that that would be Takiman's motive…"

The anchorwoman paused and touched the Bluetooth device in her ear. Her eyes widened, her lips parted slightly, and she gasped.

"This just in, Takiman has just died of a heart attack!"

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 **Sorry if the first two rules of the Death Note are a little off, everyone. Please follow this story if you liked it and look for Chapter 2!**


	2. Tensions

**Welcome back to Justice! Thanks for reading it, and I hope that you guys don't mind the cliffhangers. I gotta keep you reading, don't I?**

 **Sorry I left you waiting for so long for this chapter, I'll try to update sooner. I won't make any promises, though. ;3**

 **I do this with every fanfic that I write, so what would you guys think if I did a Q &A? If you have a question about the fanfic, then I could answer it before the next chapter. However, if you don't label it as a Q&A question, then I won't answer it. So if you would like a Q&A, then please tell me in the comments! Now enough blabbing and on with Chapter 2 of Justice!**

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Chapter 2: Tensions

 _WH-what?! He died of a…heart attack? Is the Death Note real? And if it is real? What if someone else had picked it up instead of me? Calm down, Ryuzaki. Calm down…_

 _I will have to test it a few more times to make sure that Takiman's death was not a coincidence. I would have to test it on some more criminals; the world would be better without them anyways. However, does killing them make me a murderer? I guess it does, but if criminals are dead, then they are unable to break out of prison. Then if there are no criminals to be in prison, wouldn't people lose their jobs as guards? Wouldn't the police then be rendered useless? So many things to consider. I think that if I'm going to kill criminals and make my job easier, I should just kill a few, but enough so that way people begin to notice._

Ryuzaki heard the door open downstairs. Someone had come home. He took his thumb off of his lower lip, stuffed the Death Note into one of his desk drawers, and went down to greet them. Besides, he needed to get himself some cake anyway.

"I'm home!" a female voice called.

"Hello, Mother." Ryuzaki said as he gave her a hug.

His mother was pale-skinned, just like him. She had long black hair that was put up into a tight bun in the back of her head. It wasn't perfect, because there were a few stray hairs. Her makeup outlined the most beautiful feature of her face, which were her bright, green eyes. She had a chubbier face than Ryuzaki, but it made her look cute. She had a round, thin nose. In Ryuzaki's opinion, she looked like the perfect mother. Her work uniform—which consisted of a black shirt, a black, long-sleeved vest, and a skirt that went down to her knees—was faded from use. The fact that she was carrying two grocery bags in both hands and wearing tall heels made her sway slightly.

"Why are you home so early, honey? Did something happen at school?" she asked, not bothering to hide her worry.

"No, nothing happened in school today. Expect maybe the fact that Mr. Adam finally let me sit how I want and that I was swarmed with homework finishing requests." He said calmly as he rubbed the side of his ankle with his other foot.

She smiled softly. "Can you help me carry in the rest of the groceries, Zaki? There are a lot of them in the back of the car." She said, using the nickname that she had given Ryuzaki.

"Of course, Mother. I can finish my homework later." He said as he walked out the door to the white minivan.

The back was wide open, the passenger seat door and the back seat door that was closest to the house were open, revealing gray grocery bags. Ryuzaki didn't know why his mother had parked along the street and not on the driveway, but he decided not to question her ways. His mother always had a reason for everything she did. But then he realized that his father left for work first, so he had to park his pickup truck behind the minivan.

Ryuzaki grabbed all of the bags in the passenger seat, three in each had. He then closed the door using his back. As he walked back to the house, his mother came outside. They nodded to acknowledge each other's presence, and then continued on what they were doing.

Once inside, Ryuzaki could see where his mother had put the groceries that she had already carried in, so he put the six bags that he was holding next to them.

The pair continued to bring in grocery bags and put the food away for the next half hour—there were a lot of them—which gave Ryuzaki plenty of time to think.

 _I know not to tell anyone about the Death Note. It would be a fool's mistake. However, how do I keep anyone from finding out about it? If the Death Note fell into the wrong hands, it would be disastrous._

He took another round of six grocery bags into the kitchen.

 _So, what I need to do is hide it somewhere where only I am able to find it. I should set up a hidden camera in the desk drawer where the notebook is hidden right now, and review the footage every day to make sure. However, it may be too late if the notebook goes missing. So, I should –_

"There's something that you need to know, Zaki." His mother said, interrupting his thoughts.

He raised his head. The two of them had finished with the groceries, so they were now sitting down in the dining room, drinking tea. Ryuzaki had gotten a slice of shortcake from the refrigerator, but he hadn't eaten any yet. "Yes, Mother?"

She sighed shakily and closed her eyes. When she opened them back up, tears threatened to fall. "Your father asked that you don't continue with helping the police with cases. He said that your help was amazing, but the police can take it from here."

Ryuzaki was shocked, but he refused to show it on his face. He instantly started to figure out his father's line of thinking.

 _Do the police not trust me anymore? Why is Father acting so strangely? Is this a trap to get me to believe that my father doesn't trust me, therefore making me angry and wanting answers? If that's the case—it has a slight chance, only about ten percent—then how would someone trick my own father into not trusting me?_

"Why? Does he not trust me? I have vital information concerning our current case," Ryuzaki took a bite of his cake. "I just haven't been able to get it to the police because of school. He must understand that my studies come first." He said.

His mother sniffled. Ryuzaki handed her a tissue. She blew her nose, whipped her eyes, sniffled again, and then spoke. "He doesn't trust you, Zaki. He says that you have just been letting the police look like idiots for years, and even though you helped them with a lot of cases."

 _The probability of someone messing with my father's mind just rose to thirty percent._

Ryuzaki sighed. "After all this time and he still doesn't trust me," he paused to take another bite of cake. "However, his theory does make sense."

Ryuzaki's mother looked shocked. She hadn't expected this reaction from Ryuzaki. However, it did make sense. He always remained level-headed through everything.

"Don't look so shocked, Mother. If I were my father, I would feel this way as well." Ryuzaki took yet another bite of cake. "However, his actions are immature and childish. When is he coming home?"

"Usual time, I think." His mother responded.

"Hmm…that's too late. Er, would you mind if I went to speak to him at the police station, Mother?" Ryuzaki asked.

"Of course note, Zaki. Go right ahead. I'll hold down the fort while you're gone." She said, smiling.

Ryuzaki finished his caked, put what dishes he used into the sink, and then went upstairs to grab the knapsack he always used for deductive work. He considered putting the Death Note in there, but then thought otherwise. If someone were to find it, then he would go in for questioning about Takiman's death. So, on his way out, he took a stick of mechanical pencil lead and placed it in the doorframe so that way it would break if the door opened.

 _That should be good enough for now. When I get home, I'll put in some more security measures in. Maybe some security cameras, wire-taps, things like that._

When he went downstairs, his mother had gone into the living room to watch a movie. She smiled at him and waved as he walked out the door. Ryuzaki did something similar, and closed the door quietly behind him.

Once outside, he sighed and leaned against the door and squished his knapsack against it. He had a feeling that things were note going to go well when he told the task force that he had kept what he was solving to himself. Ryuzaki got onto his bike and began to pedal downtown, where headquarters was.

His father was going to be so angry with him. Ryuzaki had disobeyed his orders, and since his father hated being proven dumber than his son, he wasn't going to be happy when Ryuzaki revealed that he linked what evidence they had together. Maybe his father had already linked the evidence together, maybe not. Either way, Ryuzaki will have to speak with his father.

The sounds of traffic and moving bodies clouded Ryuzaki's thoughts, so he just took in the sights. There wasn't anything new downtown. The buildings cast long shadows over the ground that evening, and where the sunlight was supposed to touch the ground, there was a person or a dumpster that also had a long shadow, so basically, only the sky had light. The light that was in the sky was orange and purple. Ryuzaki could see the setting sun behind one of the many skyscrapers, and it was magnificent. The sunlight was bathing what small amounts of clouds were in the sky with a beautiful pink light. The rest of the sky was more orange than blue, and it got even more of an orange color the closer you looked to the sun. All in all, the city was beautiful. Ryuzaki wished the world was the same way.

The tall police station building loomed over him as he approached, casting long shadows upon the ground. It wasn't a very tall building; it was about the average size for a skyscraper, if there even is an average size. The whole outside was mostly glass, but it was tinted so that way you couldn't see inside from outside. A giant sign in front of the building announced what it was along with a memorial on which officer's names were written. It was always being updated; every week, in fact. Ryuzaki didn't see the usual carver, so he assumed that no one had died, which was good.

After parking his bike at the front entrance and making sure it was secure, Ryuzaki went inside. The lobby was relatively large, with a giant desk against the far wall. It wasn't anything fancy. He walked up to the person behind that desk and said:

"I'm here to see my father."

The clerk knew who Ryuzaki was, for he had seen the 16-year-old many times before. However, today was not a good day for the clerk. The dark-skinned man had been told that he was not to let Ryuzaki Lawliet see his father, no matter what. Of course, he agreed.

"Um, h-hey, Ryu. How are you today?" he asked, chuckling nervously.

"I know that my father asked you not to let me see him, but this is urgent. I must see him immediately. That is, if you don't mind, Karamu." Ryuzaki said.

Karamu, being a more afraid of Ryuzaki than his father, nodded quickly and pointed a shaking finger to the three elevators on the left side of the room. Before he could say anything, Ryuzaki held up his right hand for silence.

"I know where to go. Thank you." Ryuzaki said as he walked over toward the elevator furthest to the left. It opened almost instantly when he pushed the up button. Luckily, it was free of humans. He walked into the elevator, and pressed the number 15, which was the floor that the investigation was being held at.

 _Ding!_

The silver doors closed, and he started his ascent.

"What did I tell you not to do, Ryuzaki?!"

That was the first thing he said to the wild-haired teen when he walked into the room. Ryuzaki didn't show any emotion towards his father, he simply walked up to the man and looked him straight in the eyes.

"I have important information concerning the case, and I didn't tell you about it before because I wasn't sure if I knew for sure that it was valid information." He said calmly.

His father backed away and gasped slightly, his pale lips separating as he sucked in air. His father was almost identical to Ryuzaki, except he hated sweet foods, didn't slouch, didn't sit with his feet under him, and he kept his black hair cut short—military-style.

"Well, I, uh…"

Ryuzaki almost chuckled at this response—not that it wasn't expected. Ryuzaki was most likely going to get yelled at when he got home for embarrassing his father in front of everyone. Oh well.

"R-Ryuzaki, where do you have this information stored? On a f-f-flash drive or something?" his father said with a shaky voice. _He's either trying to contain rage, is too embarrassed to speak right, or a bit of both._

"I can tell you all right now that I am certain who is committing these crimes. It's going to be a surprise to you, so please don't be angry with me."

* * *

 **Sorry I can't tell you the results of this, and I usually would, but then the chapter would be too long and it's not relevant to the plot. I will make an extra chapter later to include this stuff for the curious people. So anyway, back to the fanfiction.**

* * *

Ryuzaki sat silently in the shadows that the streetlamps cast on his father's moving car. He would've offered to drive, usually, but there was too much on his mind. There was the notebook, and the fear of it being discovered. There were also the tests that he would have to conduct tomorrow to make sure that the Death Note was real, and not a prank.

"Ryuzaki, why did you disobey my orders?" his father asked.

"I thought the investigation could end or move forward if I gave you the information and judging by your current speed…" he said, smirking. "It would've taken the task force another year to figure it out."

"How dare you speak to me like that!"

"I'm only telling you the truth. Wasn't it you and Mother that taught me how to be honest and secretive at the same time?" Ryuzaki said, taking his thumb off of his lower lip.

His father shook his head and stared ahead at the road, with the only illumination coming from the headlights and streetlamps. He hated it when his son proved himself smarter. He hated it when Ryuzaki solved cases within an hour that he had worked three months on.

When the pair finally arrived at the house, all the lights except one were out. The one that was on illuminated the one in the dining room. That was the only moment in that entire day that Ryuzaki and his father were thinking the same thing: _Who's gonna get yelled at and who's gonna talk to her?_

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 **Sorry to end it here, but I needed to update so here you go! Thanks for reading!**


	3. Testing

Chapter 3: Testing

 **I'm back with the third chapter of Justice! I don't have that much to say this time, so I'm just gonna say that you guys should check out my other stories. No pressure or anything, I'm just not getting as much traffic on them as I am on this fic. So anyway, back to the story!**

* * *

Ryuzaki collapsed onto his bed. That was just too much for him. He was the one that had to speak with his mother, and he ended up being told to go to his room. Ryuzaki knew that it was best not to argue, so here he was. The yelling from downstairs was carrying up to his bedroom, even with the door closed. He'd never be able to do his homework with that much noise.

 _Wait a minute, the Death Note!_ He thought.

Ryuzaki got up and went over to the drawer where the Death Note was held. He threw it open and, to his relief, there was the notebook. He knew that he needed to be more careful. Wiretaps needed to be installed.

He logged onto his computer to find out where he could get wiretaps locally. After trial and error, he eventually found a hardware store that was downtown. He had been there before, but Ryuzaki wasn't quite sure that they sold wire taps. After printing a coupon and—reluctantly—putting shoes on and pocketing the Death Note in his pocket, Ryuzaki went downstairs and remained inconspicuous. He walked outside, closing the door quietly behind him. Even it was still dark out, Ryuzaki found the cold and dark relaxing. He has always done his homework in a cold room with minimal light. He found that it made him focus better.

Ryuzaki figured that he'd be able to get home faster if he used his motorcycle. He steered it out of the garage, and after a bit of searching, he found his helmet and goggles. It was nothing special to him, but it did have flames painted along the sides. Ryuzaki distinctly remembered putting the messy flaming paint job on the black helmet when he first got it a few years ago. He had taken the helmet and some red spray paint that he had gotten for his 16th birthday and tried to paint on fire.

He put it on his head, and positioned the goggles around his dark eyes. The helmet made his messy hair stick out in odd directions from underneath his helmet, giving him an even messier look. Ryuzaki hadn't ridden his motorcycle in years, so he almost forgot how it started. For a while, he tried to figure out how the thing started. Even though he could solve any case you give him, Ryuzaki was no mechanic. Finally he gave up and just started it like how he would start a car; he put the key into the ignition, twisted it, and hoped that the vehicle would start. To his surprise, it did.

Happy that he didn't have to get out the instructions, Ryuzaki got onto the bike. He turned the handle to rev the engine, and felt the power of the bike under him. Ryuzaki wasn't familiar with thrill. The last time he felt this way was, well, never. He tried to place a word for the way that the bike made him feel, but it was hard. Then Ryuzaki remembered the notebook in his back pocket, and that he had to test to make sure it wasn't a prank.

He drove the bike out of the garage and sped down the street. The wind tore at his face and whistled in his ears. Ryuzaki wasn't able to think very well or take in the beauty that night brought upon the city, but he was able to relive a few moments, like the time he crashed into a lamppost or when he accidently almost stole someone else's bike.

The store he was looking for quickly came into sight, and he parked his bike right outside the door. He left the helmet and goggles strapped to the seat so no one would steal them. The store was almost empty when he walked in, which was good for him. He didn't like interacting with strangers. Ryuzaki went through the materials that were organized on the shelves, trying his best to find wiretaps.

 _Do I really have to make my own wiretaps?_ He thought. He never liked making things, because they never ended up right. They were always at least five centimeters off, and because of that the equipment didn't work well.

He finally found what he was looking for. He found a recording device that he would use and hook up to his Bluetooth. Ryuzaki bought the item and went back outside.

He shivered; it was much colder than it was earlier. Just as he began to wish that he had brought a jacket, a woman came out of the store. She was simple, with simple short brown hair, an angular face, and wearing a brown coat. The woman was young—most likely a college student. She was carrying a bag similar to Ryuzaki's and was heading to her car when a group of three bikers pulled up, surrounding her and blocking her path.

"Hello, little lady," the first one said.

He was an ugly man, with a large, meaty face, and big teeth. Light brown hair stuck out underneath his white helmet. The man was dressed in a brown coat and the inside of the hood was lined with white fur. Rings decorated his fingers, and a golden chain necklace lay over top of a green shirt. Sunglasses covered his mud-brown eyes.

"H-hello, sir. May I please get to my car?" the woman asked, her voice shaking.

"I'm Shibuimaru, Takuo Shibuimaru. So how 'bout it, boys?" he asks with a devilish grin on his face.

The men shouted agreements and other things Ryuzaki wished he hadn't heard.

Then, Shibuimaru got off his bike and took the bag away from the woman, then threw it to the ground. He pushed her against one of his friends, who trapped her from behind. She cried out for someone to help her, and Ryuzaki didn't know what to do. Shibuimaru began to unbuckle the woman's belt and unzip her pants.

"Please stop! Leave me alone!" she cried, tears streaming down her face.

Ryuzaki turned his back and pulled out the Death Note. He opened up to the first page where he had written the other criminal's name and got out his pen. What was it again? Takuo Shibuimaru, that's it.

 _Takuo Shibuimaru, 7:38 P.M., September 13_ _th_ _, 2012. Dies an accidental death._

He wrote. He looked at his watch. It read 7:36, so Takuo had two minutes to live, if the Death Note worked. Just then, the clerk threw open the door of the store.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing!? I'm calling the cops!" he says, taking out his phone.

Shibuimaru stopped what he was doing to the struggling woman, and then he jumped onto his bike, yelling at his two friends to go with him. As Shibuimaru drove onto the road, exactly as 7:38 came, a white semi-truck pulling a white trailer hit him head-on.

Ryuzaki's eyes widened at the sight, and he stood there with his lips parted slightly, and watching as the truck stopped almost instantly, watching the blood run across the road and falling along the curb, watching as his buddies franticly scrambled off their bikes to the scene, and watched as the woman zipped up her pants, jumped into her car, and sat there sobbing.

Everything seemed to be in a haze. Ryuzaki's mind was clouded by so many thoughts that he couldn't get them all straight. But there was one thing that he did know:

He had to get home. Now.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed chapter three of** ** _Justice_** **! Sorry if this chapter was a little short, but be expecting an update! This story is nowhere close to done.**


	4. Ryuk

__Chapter 4: Ryuk

 **Welcome back to** ** _Justice!_** **(No pun intended) I've known that you guys have been waiting to meet Ryuk, so I decided to stop stalling and mention the guy a few times…**

 **I do this with all of my works, and I see that you guys do have questions for me! So what I do is a Q &A session before every story if I don't make something clear. For example:**

 **(You):** ** _Q &A: Do these characters have any pets?_**

 **(Me):** ** _Q &A to (your name/username): I may introduce a pet that belongs to Matsuda, cause he's Matsuda, but other than that no._**

 **So yeah! And some peoples did ask me questions so…..**

 **Guest:** ** _This chapter made me think on how exactly does one accidentally steal somebody else's motorcycle?_**

 **Me:** ** _To be honest, I'm not exactly sure. I should've done more research on the subject but I'm busy writing this so that way you don't kill me._**

 **Guest:** ** _Awesome! When do we get to meet this world's Light?_**

 **Me:** ** _In good time, my friend. However, I can estimate that it won't be until the next chapter or the sixth one. I apologize for the long wait, but it'll be worth it—trust me._**

 **So now that I'm all done blabbing my face off, on with the story!**

* * *

Without going over the speed limit, Ryuzaki sped his way home. To be perfectly honest, he didn't care if the things that he had bought went flying out of his bag, even if it was safe in the small bag that was firmly attached to the back of his motorcycle. All he needed to do was research this notebook a lot more—find out its secrets and the catch. His mind was pondering all sorts of options, such as how long it would take to fill the notebook with names, what his afterlife would be like—that is if the afterlife did exist.

Was this gonna be on the news? Most likely. Would they find out that he's the one that killed Shibuimaru? Not unless they found the Death Note. Even if the police did find the notebook, the truck driver would be punished for murder.

Ryuzaki had guilt building up inside of him. He had killed two men by only writing their names down. He didn't feel like anyone should have that kind of power. Killing people just by knowing their face and full name didn't seem real enough to him. It seemed as almost as he was living in a haze, never knowing what to think.

* * *

 **In the Shinigami realm…**

Ryuk sat on a black cliff. He was deep in thought as he looked out across the wasteland that was the Shinigami realm. Even if the Shinigami were gods, their realm was that of a human dump site. Bones and game cards littered the ground, and the sky was grey and smelled like smoke. Shinigami were moving along about their business on the ground, which matched the sky in color. Strange rock formations came up from the ground like fingers, gnarled and black. The only source of light remained on the horizon and covered by the storm clouds that never went away.

"Eh, Ryuk, you want to play?" another Shinigami had asked.

"No, I have more interesting things to do," he said.

The other Shinigami laughed his voice more like gravel than anything else.

"What could be more interesting than playing this game, Ryuk?" he said.

Ryuk got up and spread his long, thin, feathery wings. "I dropped my Death Note," he said.

The other Shinigami had begun to cackle, because they were remembering the last time a Shinigami had dropped their Death Note. It was in the human realm, and it wasn't pretty, but entertaining.

Ryuk dove into a dark hole that lead into the human realm, feeling the stale wind in his face.

* * *

 **In the human realm (Ryuzaki):**

The house was silent and still, just like every other house on the street. In fact, it would seem peaceful if there wasn't a crazy-haired kid speeding down the street on his motorcycle. The wind tore at his face and made him look even wilder than he already was. In the light of the lampposts that lined the street, the dark circles under his eyes made Ryuzaki look fierce and in some ways insane. Even if there were the occasional car going down the street, he knew that they would get out of his way.

He pulled into the driveway of his house, and all the windows were dark. Ryuzaki parked his bike there, took off his helmet, grabbed his wiretaps, made sure the Death Note was still in his pocket, and then he sped to the door, unlocking it with the house key that always hang around his neck. The halls were dark, but the silence was so still that even the silent opening of a door seemed to scare him a bit.

Up the stairs he went, straight to his room. Before entering, however, he checked the pencil lead. It wasn't broken. _That's good. Even if they had to, my parents know to ask before coming in my room. But one can't be too precautious,_ he thought.

He opened the door and stepped inside. It was as if he had never left. Throwing his wiretaps and helmet onto his bed, Ryuzaki went over to his desk and set the black-leathered notebook upon it. For a while, he just stared at it. That was until he heard someone—or some _thing_ enter his room through the window. Ryuzaki looked up, ready to face whatever it was. It was not was he was expecting.

The strangest creature stood—rather, it floated, right in front of him. It had a bad slouch—much like Ryuzaki—and the creature was clothed in black. It wore black boots, black pants that looked like tights, a torn and ragged black skirt, a long-sleeved black shirt that hugged his skin and was torn at the elbows, and a pair of black gloves that stretched up to just below the wrist. The creature's fingers were decorated with silver skull rings, and his right wrist bore a silver bracelet that had a screaming human skull on it. On its waist was a dark leather belt, from which two pouches suspended by silver chains. The belt buckle reminded Ryuzaki of pirate skulls, since it was deformed and one side was darker than the other. However, the most terrible part of this demon was its face. White flesh was stretched over his shoulders, and the hem of the shirt was sewn into it. Its eyes were orange and large, and the only other thing that was noticeable about it was its mouth. Its lips were black, and they always remained parted to show rows of sharp, white teeth. Even if that looked natural to some, his mouth was seemingly carved into an upward smile, like the creature had taken a knife and gave itself a permanent smile. Even though the creature had a wide face, it was angular, but not ugly. Black, feathery spikes stuck out from its shoulders, like deformed wings. Bluish-black hair was styled in a spiked format on his pale-skinned head.

Ryuzaki had never seen anything like it before in his life.

He cried out and fell off of his chair, frantically searching for a weapon. He knew that he had a pocket knife somewhere, but where was it? As he frantically looked for it, the creature _laughed._

It was a raspy laugh, and it was hardly ever heard. The creature's mouth would remain open as he caught his breath, revealing a blackened tongue. Ryuzaki was terrified by this, and it paralyzed him.

"What're you so scared of?" it asked, its voice raspy but clear.

Ryuzaki struggled to speak. Usually, he knew what to do because he had been faced with the situation before, however this time was different. He wondered if anyone deals with demons on a daily basis—anyone besides a priest, that is.

After a while, Ryuzaki mustered up the bravery to stand. His palms were sweaty, so as he got up, he wiped them on his jeans. He straitened his face to look emotionless, and looked the demon straight in the eyes. It raised its eyebrow.

"I am sorry to have acted so irrationally, however it isn't every day that a human comes in contact with the likes of you," Ryuzaki said as smoothly as he could.

"True. Well, aren't you going to ask my name or what I am or something?" the creature said.

 _It's just testing its boundaries,_ Ryuzaki thought.

"You are the one that burst into my bedroom uninvited in the middle of the night, so proper edict would be for you to ask my name," he said.

The demon considered arguing, but there was just something about this human. He was different from the rest. The creature didn't understand this feeling, but decided to go with it. The only reason he dropped his Death Note was because he was bored.

"Fine, then. Who're you and how'd you find my Death Note?" he asked.

"My name is Ryuzaki, and I didn't exactly _find_ your Death Note. It rather fell from the sky and landed in front of me. One could say that it found _me_ ," Ryuzaki said, choosing his words carefully. He found this monster easy to play with. "So what is your name, and I hope you don't mind my asking, but what are you?"

"I'm Ryuk, and I'm a Shinigami," Ryuk said simply.

 _Sh-shinigami!? As in a god of death? IN MY BEDROOM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!? This can't be good…_

Even if Ryuzaki was shocked by this, he was skillfully trained in the art of being emotionless. However, he did allow himself an eyebrow raise, even though his dark eyes remained cold and soulless.

Ryuk almost took a step back—this human was intimidating.

"A Shinigami, eh? They're gods of death, correct?" Ryuzaki asked flatly.

Ryuk nodded in an almost nervous manner. "Yep, I'm a god of death. Is there an issue with that, er, Ryuzaki?"

"No, there is no issue with that. The only thing I'm curious about is why you dropped the notebook," Ryuzaki said, glancing at the open-faced notebook on his desk. "Were you bored or did you just need to kill a certain someone?"

Ryuk was shocked by this, and he gasped—if only slightly. "Y-yeah, that's exactly why. I was bored, because now, there's nothing to do anymore," he said, trying his best to hide the shock.

Ryuk followed Ryuzaki's eyes and saw the familiar notebook. He only saw two names in it—which was typical. No one ever used the Death Note too much at first.

"Well I might as well explain some things to you about the notebook, since you've had it for this long," Ryuk said flatly.

Ryuzaki laid down on his bed with his hands behind his head—now knowing that Ryuk was not a threat. "Go right ahead," he said.

"Now listen closely, 'cause I won't repeat it twice," Ryuk motions to the notebook on the desk.

"Since you picked up _my_ Death Note, I'll have to write your name in my own notebook. That would be the only way to kill you, unless you commit suicide and write your name in your own notebook yourself," Ryuk said, and then he laughed. The laugh sent a chill through Ryuzaki's bones, but he refused to show it. "And when it is your time to die, you won't spend the rest of eternity in heaven or hell."

"Is that all?"

"No, of course not. Anyway, the notebook belongs to the human realm as soon as a human—in this case you—touches it," he paused for a strange moment, then continued. "Since the notebook now belongs to you, giving it away is an option, but I'd have no choice but to erase all your memories of the notebook."

Ryuzaki nodded, carefully considering what Ryuk had said. The lengthy silence began to bother Ryuk, and he shifted uneasily. He really didn't have anything else to say, and this Ryuzaki kid was beginning to scare him.

It seemed like ages before he spoke again, and Ryuk sighed with relief when he did.

"You didn't specify _why_ you dropped the notebook, Ryuk," Ryuzaki said.

"Well if it's because I chose you for some heroic reason, you're wrong. I simply dropped it, where it landed was none of my concern," Ryuk said harshly. His voice changed into one of anger—it made Ryuzaki assume that other humans that have picked up and thought that their destiny was to kill people and that Ryuk was an all-powerful god who declared them something important.

"I never thought that—there are many other humans on this planet that would be much better at killing other humans than I," Ryuzaki said. "I do have a question for you, however."

Ryuk became nervous. This dark-haired teenager was scary, if anything intimidating.

" _Why_ did you drop the Death Note? Was it simply an accident—or were you bored?" he asked, taking his thumb off of his bottom lip and positioning his hands on his knees.

"It was kinda both—the thing slipped out of my hand and fell. But I guess that I was bored because the Shinigami realm is nothing compared to what it once was," Ryuk answered truthfully.

Ryuzaki was dying to ask about the realm, but he assumed that Ryuk may have been tired from the journey. A food offer would be good. He stood.

"Would you like anything to eat, Ryuk? We have apples, cake, strawberries, and some other things downstairs in the refrigerator," he asked politely.

 _I am kinda hungry…_ Ryuk thought. "Sure," the Shinigami said, shrugging.

Ryuzaki nodded and opened the door to his bedroom. As Ryuk began to follow, Ryuzaki looked back. "You may not want to follow me—the doorway is too small and you may knock some things over downstairs. Besides, my parents are still awake and downstairs."

Ryuk laughed. "They can't see me, and I just pass through objects, see?" He said, waving his hand through the wall. "And besides, only those who touch the Death Note can see me."

Ryuzaki shrugged, and he led Ryuk down the stairs to the fridge. His parents were both asleep on the sofa, and credits were rolling across the TV screen. Silently, carefully, Ryuzaki pulled out a slice of strawberry shortcake topped with icing for himself, and an apple for Ryuk.

Ryuk was handed the apple once the pair went back up to Ryuzaki's bedroom, and he eagerly bit into it. It was the most delicious thing that he had ever eaten in his life—the small amount of tartness was evenly balanced with the sweetness.

"This is so good…" he said, pieces of apple flying from his mouth as he spoke.

"It would be better if you saved speaking for after you swallow," Ryuzaki suggested, sitting down on his bed with his cake.

Ryuk ignored him and ate the apple slowly, savoring each bite. Ryuzaki found Ryuk's newfound love for apples interesting—and this made him ponder about the anatomy of the Shinigami. How were his wings attached? How much muscle or even how was the muscle aligned so that way Ryuk could fly and move his arms and legs? It was so interesting; Ryuzaki didn't notice that he was staring at the creature. Ryuk noticed Ryuzaki's strange behavior.

"Is something wrong?"

Noticing his mistake, Ryuzaki shook his head and took a bite of cake.

"Nothing's wrong—I was just thinking," he paused and suddenly noticed how comfortable his bed looked. He felt his eyelids begin to droop; he was exhausted. "I need to get some sleep. Good night, Ryuk."

"Night, Ryuzaki."


	5. Limitations

**The Muffin Maestro (me) is back with the next chapter of** ** _Justice_** **! I just need to say a few things before we get started:**

 **1.** **Nascar fans will always miss Jeff Gordon and his 24 car.**

 **2.** **Thank you guys so much for all of your support on this story! It really means a lot to me as an author.**

 **3.** **Happy Thanksgiving! (American holiday that I don't feel like explaining)**

 **That's really all I have to say this time around, so on with Chapter 5!**

* * *

Ryuzaki may not have had a lot of experience with the Death Note, but he _knew_ that there were limitations to its power. Things like this had never come up before in any investigation, however, every villain he caught had their limits to what they would do. The same thing had to be assumed for this notebook. So therefore he needed to find these limitations before he _really_ started to use it. That would mean…

The last thing he wanted to do was to kill more people. He couldn't kill animals with this notebook because it said "human's name", not "creature's name". Ryuzaki was still getting over the guilt of killing Shibuimaru, even if the man was attempting rape.

As if sensing what Ryuzaki was thinking, Ryuk spoke.

"You know, if you're going to test the Death Note out further, then you're gonna have to kill some more people. Criminals with long sentences would be best—put them out of their misery," he said. The Shinigami was floating upside-down above Ryuzaki's bed; he maneuvered his body to look as if he was laying down. A single apple dangled from his fingers, and half of it had been eaten away. A little bit of juice from the apple dripped down Ryuk's chin, however he paid no mind.

"I'm unsure if I can—I still have guilt from the rapist's murder," Ryuzaki said. He knew that killing someone like that should be wiped from the face of the Earth; however, he was _still_ a human being.

 _Why the hell did I pick up this accursed notebook? Why didn't I just leave it on the ground where someone else could've picked it up?_

 _Because if it fell into the wrong hands, humanity better watch out,_ Ryuzaki thought, answering his own question.

"Humans are so strange," Ryuk said, taking another bite of his apple.

"Agreed," Ryuzaki said, going back to his thoughts.

He couldn't decide what to do; kill criminals and become a criminal himself, so in other words, become hippocratic, or, he could ask Ryuk to revoke his memories of the notebook. The memory idea made him nervous. Even if it was for safety reasons, he didn't want his memories erased. In his opinion, each moment on this Earth was to be cherished, not forgotten.

After a few more moments of silence, Ryuzaki spoke.

"What do you suggest I do about this, Ryuk?"

Ryuk was shocked. The smartest human he had ever met was asking him a _question._ Ryuk didn't want to say anything stupid, so he said:

"I don't care."

"That doesn't help," Ryuzaki said with a slight tint of annoyance in his voice.

"Likewise, I don't care. Just do something with it soon, okay?" Ryuk said with just as much I-don't-care as before.

Then, as if he had been slapped in the face, Ryuzaki came to a realization. It was as clear as day, and just as warm.

 _The world was a terrible place._

The realization was so true, it scared him. The world that he lived in was a hellish place, full of crime, civil unrest, poverty, sickness, and pollution. The world, Ryuzaki realized, is falling apart slowly, and the end of mankind was fast-approaching.

Ryuzaki's nails dug into the black leather of the notebook that he clutched in his hands. His anger at the world flared, and for the first time in his life, Ryuzaki lost his mind.

"The world is a terrible place!" he cried, jumping up from his swivel chair. The sudden movement from Ryuzaki made Ryuk jump. The Shinigami dropped his apple, and it landed with a _thud_ on the floor. The apple rolled slowly across the hardwood floor until it remained unmoving.

The young detective with an inconclusive fate breathed heavily and shakily. Nothing like that had ever happened to him before. He had always looked at things for the way they were, looked for a solution, and if he could find one, put that idea to use. Even if Ryuzaki had failed to find a solution, he just accepted the fact and moved on. He was not the kind of person to run into things unprepared—nor will he ever be like that.

Ryuzaki, exhausted and unsure of what to do, he collapsed back into his chair, not bothering to sit like he usually did. This Death Note stuff was going to be too much for him. What he really needed to do, more than anything else in the world, was to have a few days to think. He needed to think about if he was willing to use the notebook. He needed to think about the pros and cons of this strange, supernatural experience. He needed to think about what this would do to him in the future, and he needed to think about the annoying Shinigami.

* * *

 **Sorry for such a short chapter, guys! I know that it should've been longer, but I want to save the meeting of Light Yagami for a chapter all of its own, if that's okay with you.**


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